


Swan Dives

by blazingstar29



Series: Tony's Troubles [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Arc Reactor, Australia, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Cows, Deaf Clint Barton, Fainting, Gen, Hurt Tony, Light Angst, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, OOC Steve Rogers, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Out of Character, Sickfic, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor, Tony Stark-centric, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25014097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazingstar29/pseuds/blazingstar29
Summary: Tony took his fair share of swan dives. The non-science definition was his body was hitting pause and opting out of dealing with things.The top three swan dives (in Tony’s opinion):-Orthree times Tony passes out
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Tony's Troubles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811167
Comments: 3
Kudos: 91





	Swan Dives

**Author's Note:**

> this is NOT HATE AT STEVE  
> I like Steve, I just ended up writing him as a negative character in this story

Tony took his fair share of swan dives. The non-science definition was his body was hitting pause and opting out of dealing with things.

The top three swan dives (in Tony’s opinion):

1

Tony over the years made a speech more or less every week. It wasn’t a surprise that six months after the battle of New York, he took a dip on stage in front of the hundreds present and the thousands watching on television. The media thought that it was post battle stress, they weren’t far from the truth. 

It was a talk he’d made hundreds of times to University students, grants, minds of the future, blah, blah, blah. It should have been that simple, but it was his own speech that brought him to his knees.

“You people, sitting in this auditorium are the minds of the future. Your inventions will best my own, they will be the ones over taking guns and exploding arrows, they will be the inventions fighting the next alien… alien… alien invasion.” He batted his eyes against the harsh lights, his tie was a solid lump against his throat. Sweat beaded underneath his eyes, the teleprompter scrolled on. His right knee gave out first, it smacked against the floor. There was a consecutive gasp has the rest of Tony’s body gave up and he slumped on to his side. The room was still as _the_ Pepper Potts marched on stage, her stiletto heels clacking on the stage. She knelt beside Tony momentarily turning and beckoning crew on stage. Soon the stage became busy as people flooded on with a black screen.

James Rhodes addressed the audience, “sorry for the disruption everyone. We ask that you make a quiet exit throughout the doors you came through.” The university students filed out of the building murmuring quietly. Behind the black curtain Tony was blinking himself awake, feeling vulnerable being so low her bent his leg up as a form of self soothing. The thundering heart in his chest showed no sign of stopping.

“Mister Stark, do you know where you are?” A medic kneeling beside him asked.

He answered without missing a beat, “on my back at MIT for the umpteenth time.” Rhodey wrinkled his nose in humour. After the medics released him Tony immediately gravitated towards Rhodes.

“You remember the diner, the one where you tried to hit on the girl and she-“

“Yes Tony, I remember,” he cut his friend off. They began to walk to the exit, Rhodey still keeping a firm hand on his friends’ elbow.

2

There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, to fight the battles that we never could.

In Tony’s opinion that was a load of bullshit. What gave them the right to fight these battles, what made them qualified? A couple of spies, a man with anger management issues, a literal zombie and an ass hole in a tin can. Oh, and a Norse god who showed up every now and then.

But yeah, a group of remarkable people and none of them have found a cure for the flu between them.

Tony let his complaint be voiced from where he lay on the floor. The Avengers were in a farm shed a long way from the initial battle. They were in outback Australia taking down a nuclear reactor. It was on a cattle station; some guys had been building it planning to take over the world. The owner of the property had no idea someone was on his land until calves were being born with extra legs. Thor said Loki could sympathise.

Turns out the nutjobs were a little more prepared to be disturbed than they realised.

“I thought Australian’s just ran around with kangaroos and dangerous animals!” Steve shouted as he ducked from an explosion.

“It’s Australia Cap, England sent their criminals here what do you expect?” Clin responded through the com. They managed to detain the wack job and shut down the reactor. However damaged and exhausted the team went in search of a place to be picked up by the jet. For now, they were stranded in an old hay shed.

Tony just happened to have the flu.

“It’s the flu Tony, there is no cure,” Bruce sighed. He had de-hulked a while ago, but like everyone else he showed exhaustion.

“If you were sick why did you come? You put yourself in danger,” Steve chastised. Tony inwardly rolled his eyes.

“Piss off, Spandex.” Tony felt his stomach turn so he stood up weakly. The heat was sweltering and whilst he only just tolerated Nat and Bruce, he wasn’t going to be a dick and throw up in the shed. It didn’t take long for his stomach to do its job and eject its contents.

Tony sighed; the Australian heat wasn’t something to joke about. With the suit having barley enough power to function Tony didn’t want to risk flying off to find the Quinjet.

A herd of cows stood on the horizon. Slowly and with great care Tony lowered himself against the shed wall. It was only a few seconds before everything went black.

-

Tony woke up on his side, his blurry gaze began to focus, and he realised he was staring into a mob of cows. They had gathered around the shed seeking shade, but all baulked at Tony. One brave calf skittered up and snuffled Tony’s hand.

“Jesus Christ where did they all come from!” Bruce shouted. The herd all spooked and ran off a few hundred meters. A cloud of dust was left in their wake.

“Bruce we’re on a farm, there’s going to be cows,” Clint sighed as he wandered out of his shed. His eyes fell onto Tony’s slumped shape. “Oh my god, Bruce!” The two men jumped to Tony’s side.

“I forgot he was out here,” Bruce exclaimed helplessly as he put a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“You okay man?” Clint asked.

“Y’ scared m’ frien’,” was the weak reply.

3.

Steve Rogers… wasn’t Tony’s best friend. Both men were strongly opinionated on what was right and wrong. And that caused arguments until one of them conceded or it was time to shape up and get to work. The ice was thin between them. The slightest thing could send them into an argument. Whilst they had managed to become amiable since the Battle of New York, Steve was still learning about things Tony drew the line at.

One of those instances were morning afters. The Avenger’s were readily invited to galas. Shmoozing press and big names, evidentially Tony did not like questions about the worm hole. That was a no-go zone. To manage bombarding questions, he drank…a lot. But like a trained professional he hid it well.

At least until he didn’t have to. 

The morning after was usually a quiet affair as Tony slept off the drink. On this morning however Pepper was enforcing his presence at an investors meeting.

Tony shuffled into the kitchen and immediately sought out coffee for which Clint (also nursing a hangover) readily supplied him.

“I’m not going to another gala for six weeks,” the engineer grouched leaning against the bench.

Steve sighed watching him with scrutiny, “you’d enjoy them more if you didn’t get drunk off your face each time.”

“I’d enjoy them more,” Tony bit back. “If I didn’t get asked the same question every time when even when I’ve declined it since the first fucking press conference.”

Natasha eyed them from where she sat in the armchair. Her gut told her they would continue like this until Tony had to leave where he would continue with the rest of the day with a stress migraine.

“Give them what they want, and they’ll leave you alone,” Steve said nonchalantly as he read the paper. Clint leaned around Tony and signed to Natasha. “You’ve been handling them for years why so difficult now?”

_Five bucks Tony freaks and goes to throw up._

Nat just gives him the finger.

“ _Because_ ,” Tony grinds out placing his coffee down. “I have no desire to recount the tale of how I flew a nuke into space saw an entire army ready to come down and destroy us. And I was going to be stuck and die. Somehow, I managed to fall down to back to earth be grabbed by darling Bruce. But the suits dead, I am dead in a can.” Tony has taken paces forward. His hand is trembling as he continues to become more enraged.

“The suit dies, I die. Which, ya know. Is pretty depressing to think about. The fact that I’m walking death. The guy I was in a cave with, you know what he called people with my condition? The walking dead,” Tony was yelling, Steve had sat upright. Stuck between backing down because he edged a line or hitting right back at Tony.

“I don’t want to talk to the fucking press about my brief mortality because every day I wake up I am reminded of how close I am to mortality thank you very fucking much!” Tony spun around to snatch the coffee from the bench in the process he spills it over himself.

Clint sees how pale the man is and instantly worries, “Tony let’s just sit down.”

Tony stiffens, “I’m fine, I-”

With the famous last words, the mug slips from his hand as he falls to the floor.

-

Tony woke up a little while later on the lounge. The living room is empty apart from Bruce and Clint.

“Welcome back Tony, you uh took a bit of a nosedive. Brucie gave you a sedative so you’d actually get sleep,” the Clint tells him when he sees confusion spread across Tony’s face.

“Not finished yelling at Steve,” Tony mumbles sinking back into the couch. Clint smiles at the man’s desire to continue to chew the soldier out. Bruce goes into the kitchen and pours a glass.

When he returns, he places it on the table next to Tony, “I actually wouldn’t worry about that. I think Nat and Pepper have you covered.”

“That,” Tony raises his finger in the air. “Is why you four are my favourites.”

**Author's Note:**

> Pleas leave comments and kudos they make me happy :)


End file.
